"A wise person once observed that cycling in my neighborhood in Seattle is like going uphill both ways. It's the absolute truth. My house? On a hill. The business district I want to get to? On a different hill. The route to the coffee shop? Hills galore. And inevitably, as I'd grind through another steep climb, swearing under my breath, I'd hear an electric motor whir behind me."
"Someone on an e-bike - usually one of the few Lime bikes in the city not thrown onto the middle of a sidewalk - would tear past me. Not sweating and red-faced. Not cursing the existence of hills. They might not even be pedaling! The nerve, I'd think."
"I swore them all off as my enemies - the bikes, the people riding them, their whole deal. But because time makes fools of us all, I bought an e-bike last month and I can't get enough of it. I can't even fully blame my 4-year-old, though it is partially his fault. We inherited a pop-up bike trailer from some friends and I hitched it to my bike, with visions of family rides in my head."
Seattle's steep streets make everyday cycling exhausting because home, errands, and coffee shops sit on different hills. Electric-assist riders pass effortlessly, often without pedaling, provoking resentment. After inheriting a pop-up bike trailer and attempting family rides, towing the trailer up the final hill caused dizziness and forced walking. The trailer proved too strenuous for the spouse as well, who towed it once and refused to repeat the effort. Frustration with hills and the demands of carrying a child led to purchasing an e-bike, which immediately transformed the experience into something enjoyable.
Read at The Verge
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]